


A Lifetime too Late

by MightyWhiskers



Category: Original Work
Genre: Angst, Character Death, F/M, Flashbacks, Hospitals, Old Age, True Love, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-27
Updated: 2014-02-27
Packaged: 2018-01-13 22:07:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 807
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1242328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MightyWhiskers/pseuds/MightyWhiskers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>At the end of a lifetime, the answers are oh so clear.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Lifetime too Late

 Then came the day when she was no more. Her flesh had shriveled. Her voice had weakened. Her eyes were nearly blocked with cataracts. Her hair thin and grey. Her hearing gone. Her mind wasted. Stuck forever more as a young women in the mists of her first and only love. She truly had never found another. He was tall, handsome, and kind. He understood her, truly knowing her. His smile could melt her heart and did often. His hands firm and reassuring. His presence calmed and comforted her, he protected her. She on the other hand was young and naive, impulsive, overcritical, awkward, concerned and stressed about every possible thing.

She had loved him. Him love her- she never knew. Her feelings past friendship happened at the age of 17. They had known each other for years, they were close and had always enjoyed each others company. These new feelings made the relationship more complicated. Neither sure what the other wanted, or how much they wanted to show their friends and parents or how strongly they actually felt for each other.

Then the fateful night. When it had happened, he had slipped his hand over hers, intertwined her fingers. She held on to him for as long as she could not wanting to leave the embrace of his hand, truly scarred it would never come again. She felt the closeness of him, the availability. She for once lived in the moment. Not wanting to miss even a second of her time with him, they watched the stars for hours, hands intertwined, each feeling the warmth of the other.

But that was so long ago. Her memory faltered, flashing her momentarily back to the present. She was dying. She laid unmoving in her hospital bed, her mussels long gone. A few moments passed before she felt something. Her hand was warm, a sensation she had forgotten. There was a weight on top of it, but not a strange weight. She knew instantly it was him. She used what little strength she had to weave her fingers through his, to hold him for as long as she could. He answered her by holding her tightly.

He spoke although he knew she couldn’t hear him, and had probably fallen back asleep. Age had been nicer to him, although he had deep wrinkles and gaunt in mussels, he had strength, he could depend upon himself. He had lived a life of hard work, but work was good for him. He had a family he had had to provide for, a wife long gone and children now adults. He rested his forehead on top of their interlocked hands. “ There never was another, I loved my wife but never the same way... I love you.” his eyes watered and teared as the feeling of being with her again hit him.

Then she went, no noise, no movement. He heard the long beep of the heart monitor and knew she had heard him. He realized that she had always loved him since they were children. That she was waiting for him to realize that he loved her too. He did love her, he had always loved her. He loved her embarrassed smile, the way she had perfect bed head on trips. He loved the way she opened up to him with trust and didn’t press him when he was uncomfortable. He loved her comeback jokes and her concern for her own insecurities that she really didn’t have to worry about. He loved the life she brought to his life, the excitement being with her was. He loved how he could never guess what would come from her mouth next. He loved the way she had always loved him.

He felt her grip slack and understood he had realized his love for her too late. They never could go on adventures again. Never cook together. Never be with each other. Never anything. He had missed his chance to have a family with her. His chance to watch her age. Their chance to live in each others company. His chance to learn all her quirks. His chance to love her properly.

He looked at her face, it was peaceful. The youthful joy she had always had was gone, her round cheeks hollow, her smile surrounded with frown lines, but she was peaceful. She could always hold herself together. So well that no one knew she was hurting. He had let her down all those years, making her go through everything alone. He felt guilt and grief sweep through him, how could he have messed up so terribly.

With one last longing look at her face he kissed her on the cheek, something he had never had the courage to do. Then He left, already longing for her touch, a touch he could never have again.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, I wrote this a while ago when I was sad but I really like how it turned out.


End file.
